A year ago today, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia and charged with espionage, an allegation he and the Journal said was absurd. The State Department declared that Gershkovich was “wrongfully detained,” an official status that commits the Biden administration to work for his release.
Journal publisher Almar Latour has played a key role in the legal and diplomatic effort to free Gershkovich. On this episode of Playbook Deep Dive, host and Playbook co-author Ryan Lizza talks with Latour to learn the inside story of this effort.
They discuss: how the shadow of basketball star Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia is influencing talks to bring Evan home; why a Russian hitman serving a life sentence in Germany may be the key to unlocking a deal with Putin; and how the 2024 election may affect Gershkovich’s fate.
Ryan Lizza is a Playbook co-author for POLITICO.
Almar Latour is CEO of Dow Jones and publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Kara Tabor is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Alex Keeney is a senior producer for POLITICO audio.
6 Catholics, 1 Court: SCOTUS and the rise of the Federalist Society
Trump team braces for a presidential self-own
Was the TikTok face-off 'security theater'?
The 9/11 babies are all grown up — and ready to vote
Inside the Wild West of PredictIt
Bonus episode: A tale of two conventions
The GOP's identity crisis
Signed. Sealed. Delivered?
Fundraising Remix: The Zoom where it happens
Canvassing, interrupted
At-risk Republicans have a problem: Trump
Everything that can go wrong in November
Trump vs. the NFL
Why a football coach could beat Jeff Sessions
The SCOTUS case that could tip the 2020 scales
How to handle a scandal
Split screen: Inside Trump's favorite network
White America reckons with racism: Polls and what it means for 2020
The protests — the political and the personal
The politics of a pandemic
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Tiny Desk Concerts - Video
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Left, Right & Center
The Jason Stapleton Program
Podcast for America